#1104 Michael Whittaker immortalised in print – New York Times

February 18, 2010

“Idling in a nearby corner, his mouth stretched in the kind of broad yawn one associates with bored boys and hounds, Michael Whittaker, a 19-year-old model from New Zealand, rubbed his hand along the arm of his garment and said, ‘Feel this.’ What looked to be an ordinary V-neck woolen tennis sweater was, in fact, hand-knit from mink. A carved banner above Mr. Whittaker’s head read Pro Patria et Gloria (For Country and Glory), a motto for valiant roughnecks of the 107th Infantry during World War I — immortalized on a monument in Central Park near East 66th Street. ‘It’s kind of insane,’ Mr. Whittaker said — of the sweater, I think, but possibly also the whole scenario. Perhaps, in a way, it was.” – NY Times

Isn’t it funny how words can capture a moment so much better than a photograph sometimes?